The Last Mazoku: Dark Tournament
by the-writing-vampire
Summary: Based off of Tellemicus Sundance's story, but my thoughts on how this part will go. Keiko has to save the world, again. But this time, it is more personal. Keiko has a chance to find out the truth to some questions that have been haunting her since childhood that no one knows about. At least, to her knowledge. What will Raizen do to keep his identity safe. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1: A Focusful Invitation

_**Summary: Based on **__**The Last Mazoku**__** by Tellemicus Sundance, how I see the Dark Tournament going. The world around Keiko is once again in danger. This time, it really is in the hands of herself, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Raizen and Genkai to save everyone that they care about from being harmed by the Dark Tournament. Add into it the wish that each of them gets to make if they win, something that has Keiko slightly torn as to why she is really in this fight. She now has the opportunity to find out what happened to her childhood best friend whom she remembers nothing other than the mistreatment that had befallen him. Will she take it? Will Raizen try to stop her from finding out the truth about him, as he hasn't won the right to go by the name she knows him as yet?**_

_**Authors Note: Hello everyone. For those of you that are wondering, this is a story based on Tellemicus Sundance's **__**The Last Mazoku**__**. I got permission from the original author before I started to write it, as it's their story and felt that it was the right thing to do. No back stories have changed from that story, and it is strictly my thought on how the Dark Tournament is going to go.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. Nor do I own the back stories. Each belong (respectively) to either Tellemicus Sundance or Yoshihiro Togashi.**_

_**Rated T for strong and suggestive language.**_

**The Last Mazoku: Dark Tournament**

**Chapter 1: A Forceful Invitation**

**Keiko's POV**

It was just another normal day, for everyone who had no idea about the supernatural. For me, being the Reikai Tantei, it was one of those few days where everything seems to go back to the way it was before I had my meaningless death by a car. You know, ditching class (unless I had to be there for a test), beating the crap out of those idiots who think they can take me in a fight, teasing Kuwabara about the last time we had an fight and I won. Unfortunately, it never stays that way. This time was weird though, as the Toguro brothers were back. I thought that they were gone when Kuwabara, the cocky, perverted bastard Raizen and I destroyed that building and saved Yukina-chan. Apparently, those two are a hell of a lot better at surviving a building collapsing on them than I thought possible.

To make matters worse, I found all of this out when I found a note on my door (that clearly was written on something that normal people can't read) saying that my parents have been kidnapped AGAIN, and if I wanted them back I needed to come to this abandoned warehouse and fight Toguro. First Hiei does it, and now these two idiots! When will these demon's learn that that only makes me stronger?

"What the hell do you want this time, Toguro?" I yell as I enter the warehouse, ready for anything. With how long I have had the job of Reikai Tantei, it's become second nature fast to be prepared for anything.

He came out of his hiding spot in the shadows, his bother perched on his shoulder like a strange bird/snake thing, with that constant straight face, eyes hidden behind those stupid sunglasses. Despite this, I could almost hear a slight smirk in his voice as he said: "I want nothing from you, other than a rematch."

God, I can't stand this guy. He's worse than Raizen... Wait, no one is worse than that pervert. "Just let my parents go, and I will fight you into the ground, you creep!"

"I think not," hissed his brother, as the big guy suddenly charged me.

What do you know, I am in a fight for my life. Nothing new there, at least when it comes to my cases. I had already been ready for the fight to start to break out.

As we exchanged blows, which was mainly him dodging mine and landing his own, he began to say some things that I found very surprising. Like how there was a tournament coming up that demons fight in with an interesting first price. At first, I don't believe him. Not that I don't believe that demons wouldn't have a tournament to fight each other, but I think that they would just do that for the hell of it. Especially after hearing Raizen, Yukina, Hiei and Kurama talk about what it's like in the Makai. Then he asks a question that causes me to freeze.

"Haven't you ever wondered what happened to your childhood best friend?" clearly too much smugness in his voice as he says this.

I hadn't told anyone about that part of my life. Not the Reikai, nor Genkai, and I sure as hell haven't bought it up with any of the guys. How the hell does Toguro know about a piece of my past that no one knows about but me? How the fucking hell could he know about the reason I fight?

"What the fuck do you mean?"I yell, clearly pissed off. How _dare _he bring that up! My own parents don't remember him, no one does really. Just me.

"Fight in the tournament," he stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "You really have no choice in the matter."

"What the fucking hell do you mean I have choice in the matter?" I spat at Toguro, sending a good kick into his ribs. And Raizen says I can't fight youkai shit when I'm pissed beyond belief. HA! That will show him!

"If you want to protect the people you care about, like your parents, you don't have a choice in the matter, Yukimura. Everything you care about will be destroyed unless you fight in the tournament," he snarled. Great, now it's blackmailed into fighting for my life, and everyone else's. As if I wasn't far enough from normal. "And if you win, you can make a wish relating to your best friend."

I can't help but think about it for a minute. I know I need to protect everyone, it's in my damn job description as a Reikai Tantei. Koenma would kill me (again) if I didn't do it. But then there's that fact that I could have so many unanswered questions finally brought to closure. Like my memories of him with his looks an name, or what the hell happened to him all those years ago. Most importantly, where is he now, is he alive even. But could I live with myself if everything back fires?

"When is the damn thing?" I say. He knows he's won me over to this crazy invitation. "I'm not going to let all those people be killed because of me."

"I knew that you would see it my way. And don't worry, you have time to train."

After that, he sent a massive youki blast at me, knocking me out cold. The last thought to come across my mind was that my best friend, and how I would find him again one day soon.

**Normal POV**

**Genkai's Temple**

Everything was quiet, nothing strange as far as the three inhabitants of the temple could tell, until the day got close to mid-afternoon. Yukina was sitting having some tea with Genkai while Raizen was training (as always).

As Genkai and Yukina were finishing their tea, there was a strange youki that appeared in the temple. Both women wondered what could possibly be going on. Youkai generally didn't go anywhere near Genkai's temple, as Genkai was well known for not liking their company. The exception to this rule was the members of Keiko's little gang, who rarely came near the place, and Yukina who had been living there since she had been rescued by the Tantei and her friends, refusing to return to the land of the Ice Maidens.

"Hello Genkai-san. It has been a long time." The youkai said when they came across the two women. It was wearing an all black suit with a blood red tie. Genkai hadn't seen an outfit like that in over 50 years, and she shouldn't be seeing it now.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want? I'm busy." the elderly women snapped at the youkai.

"I am here to request that you participate in the in this year's Tournament."

"You have no right to. I was forced into it 50 years ago, and my wish then gives the committee no reason to even ask me to join that meaningless bloodbath again. My answer is n..."

"Toguro-sama extends the invitation personally," the youkai hurriedly interrupted. "As your apprentice is in the tournament."

Genkai's eyes grew to the size of baseballs at the mention of Keiko. She quickly turned to Yukina and said: "Go find the idiot and let him know that the girl's in danger. Have him bring her back her, NOW!"

"Yes, Genkai-sama." Yukina said as she ran off to find Raizen. Both knew that he would be able to find the young Reikai Tantei.

Raizen was in the forest doing his usual training until Keiko turned up to yell at him as she always did. In the time that he had been in the Ningenkai, this had become his favorite part of the day. He simply loved seeing how his childhood friend, though she didn't know that it was him, had changed in the years he had been missing. She had grown stronger, and more distant from her family. He wondered regularly what had caused that, but Raizen didn't push that matter. He could not reveal himself just yet, not to Keiko-chan at least. Little did he know that she would not be coming on her own today.

Yukina came running through the forest, yelling his name, causing him to stop his training. He cared about the Ice Maiden very much in the way one would care about a sister, something he was sure Hiei was glad for.

"Where's the fire, Yukina-chan?" he asked when she came to a stop in front of him and tried to catch her breath. "It's not like you are going to be kidnapped again and forced to cry by some bastard."

"Keiko-san is in danger!" Yukina exclaimed. Raizen was gone before the word "danger" was even finished.

**Raizen's POV**

How could that moron be so stupid! I found myself yelling in my head. I don't even know what danger that baka youro got herself into this time, but I should have been able to tell. I mean, I keep tabs on where she is constantly, via her reiki. The last time I physically followed her around, she slapped me damn hard. I still could, and probably should have today, actually follow her around all day, but I think she just needed some space.

I take a deep breath as I continue to run. I need to calm down a bit if I am going to be of any use in this. Focus on her reiki, you know it well enough to track it from the Makai by now. Just focus and follow. Everything will be just fine. And if not, well, there will be quite a bit of hell to pay for whoever did this.

After I manage to reign in my outrage a bit, Keiko's reiki was easy to find. It's weaker than usual though, so I know I have to hurry. I can't help but question why the hell she is in an abandoned warehouse though. Seriously, if it's about a case, she should know not to go in without at least the buffoon to assist her.

I run into the building, looking around frantically. "Oi! Keiko!" I yell, when I spot her on the floor with a huge pail of rubble around her. Running over to the fallen girl, I collapse to my knees at her side and to a quick assessment of her injuries. The worst of it seems to be a few broken bones, like her ribs. It will be painful, but she has survived worse.

"I'm going to take you to Genkai so you can get healed up, you idiot." I tell her, though she is still unconscious and doesn't have a damn clue what I am saying or doing.

Strangely enough, the buffoon ran into the warehouse at that moment, looking around to find Keiko and I with the former being carefully scooped into my arms. "YUKIMURA!" he yells like the imbecile that he is and runs at us.

Keiko lets out a small groan, likely in pain from the injuries that she has sustained from her fight with God knows who. She swarms a little bit too.

"Hey, hold still, stupid. Your pretty badly hurt and that won't help you at all." I snap sending her a soft glare. I've never been able to handle seeing her in pain. Something's never change, I guess.

"My... my parents..." she rasps. "We need to get them out of here."

So that's why she was here, and in this fight. Someone got a hold of her parents. Are the Reikai criminals really that stupid as to cause Keiko to come after them to save her parents? I mean, even I know she has some issues with them, but cares enough to fight like a cornered cat youkai when it comes to getting her parents back.

"We need to get you out of here too, Yukimura." the buffoon, whom I am not sure I will ever really respect, said in his idiotic nasally voice.

"Get them out first..." she managed to whisper before falling back into the land of unconsciousness.

I turned to the buffoon, a serious look on my face. "You get her folks. I got her."

"But-" he began to protest.

"No buts, Kuwabara. Her parents don't know a damn thing about me and won't trust me. Plus, the Tantei has been doing everything she can to keep me from even meeting them. They at least know you and would, possibly, find you trustworthy." I order. Spending all that time around my psychopath ancestor and basically rule the kingdom of the Mazoku has really helped me with the whole giving orders thing. The buffoon just nods and goes about the job given to him.

When he comes back, I have him bring Keiko-chan's parents to their house, and hopefully the two of them will think that this was all some crazy ass dream. I tell Kuwabara to stop by Genkai's when he's done. Something tells me that this is a lot bigger than just Keiko-chan getting into a fight.

_**Normal POV**_

_**Outside to Minamino residents**_

Kurama could not believe everything that had happened that day. Especially since it had seemed so normal at the start. However, by the time he was home from school he had found out that the day was anything but normal.

He was approached by a youkai dressed similarly to the one that went to Genkai, though he had not known it at the time. The youkai informed him that, because of his work with the Reikai Tantei, he was being forced to participate in that year's Dark Tournament. Something that he had not heard about in his fifteen years in the Ningen, and hardly hear about before that.

"I do not see how you would be able to force me to do something like this. You have no power over me." Kurama had told the youkai. The response that was given to him in return made his blood run colder than ice.

"If you refuse, we will simply kill your dear mother."

He could not allow for that to happen. The woman had done nothing wrong, and knew not of who he really was. He had to join the fight. He wondered if he should bring this up at all with the Tantei, as something told him that she would be there as well.

**Somewhere in the Makai**

Hiei was finally back home. Or, as close to a home as he had ever had. He despised that Ningenkai, everything about it. Though it now held what was the closest things he had to friend, as well as his dear sister who knew not whom he was, he could not bring himself to care for the place or its people. And really, he never needed friends and thought of them as a weakness. He could not afford weakness.

As he was wandering, he came across a youkai in the same outfit as those that had visited Genkai and Kurama. He had no idea of this of course. He was just happy to be home and in a place that was more his style.

"You are here by invited to participate in the Dark Tournament, Hiei of the Jagan." the youkai said, bowing slightly to the small fire youkai.

"Hn." Hiei replied. He kept walking, as he really did not give a damn about the Tournament.

"If you do not participate, we will go after your dear, sweet twin sister and kill her."

That caught Hiei's attention. What was with these fools and thinking that it would be a good idea to go after Yukina. She didn't even know who he was, and it would make no since to her.

"Try, and I will personally slit your throat." Hiei snarled.

"I am glad that you have agreed." and with that, the random youkai disappeared, leaving Hiei to his thoughts on how to kill the bastard.

_**Okay, I think that that is good for now. Will Keiko reveal to the gang what Toguro wanted of her? How will they react?**_

_**Also, I couldn't resist having a little bit of a change in the dynamic between Keiko and Raizen. **_


	2. Chapter 2: Keiko's Past

_**Author's Note: I know that it has been a long time since Tellemicus Sundance has last updated her story, and seeing as some of the things in the back stories of the characters may confuse many of you readers, I would like to make a little note relating to that. First off, at this point, when I say "Raizen" I do not mean Yusuke's ancestral father. Rather, Yusuke himself. Yusuke is the childhood friend that Keiko mentions throughout the last chapter, and will be mentioned again in this chapter. He also is an old "friend" (sparring partner) of Hiei's, who knows about the past between the two. That's basically all that really effects the main group, other than Keiko's personality change. That however will be touched on in this chapter. If you have any other questions relating to the back stories of any of the characters, please refer to **__**The Last Mazoku **__**by Tellemicus Sundance.**_

_**Also, in this chapter (along with the last) there is a lot of strong language. Mainly between Keiko and Raizen. You lot can blame my alter ego for this. But it works great for the characters.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. The characters themselves belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. The back stories and premise of this story belong to Tellemicus Sundance (whom I got permission from to write on this matter before I started to). **_

_**TLM: Dark Tournament**_

_**Chapter 2: Keiko's Past**_

_**Normal POV**_

_**Genkai's Temple**_

Keiko woke up to the rather familiar smell of crisp mountain air, tea, and pine accompanied by a good number of both reiki and youki around her. She knew instantly where she was. What had happened before her passing out seemed like a distant dream. If it could truly be called that. Keiko thought it seemed more like a twist between a horrible nightmare and her wildest joyous dreams. When she opened her eyes to see Raizen and Yukina leaning over, both with concern on their faces, she knew that the fight must have really happened. Which meant it all was real.

"You gave us quite a scare there, kid," Genkai said from her chair, sipping her tea.

"How are you feeling, Keiko-san?" Yukina asked, giving me a small smile as Keiko started to sit up. It hurt, as her injuries weren't fully healed. Even Yukina's awesome healing abilities could only do so much.

"I'm fine, Yukina. You don't need to hover like a mother hen." Keiko said with a slight wince of pain. She began to look around for her parents. While they may not have a good relationship anymore, Keiko had just risked her neck to save them from danger and wanted to know that they were alright. She was unable to find them around those gathered in the room. In fact, the only ones there were Yukina, Genkai, Raizen, Kurama, and herself.

Keiko began to go over her memories of everything that had happened earlier once again. She fought Toguro, and was luck she only came out with the injuries that she had gotten. He had fired a youki blast, which she thought had something to do with her found and being at Genkai's, and then things went black. There was a brief memory that she thought was likely a dream, but it may not have been. It was of her telling Raizen and Kuwabara to get her parents out of there. Coming to the conclusion that it was her best bet for finding out the truth, Keiko turned to Raizen and asked in a surprisingly calm voice: "Where are my parents?"

Raizen gave her a quick, boyish smile. He looked so familiar in that moment that Keiko wondered where she had seen that face before.

"Relax, crazy chick. Kuwabara is taking care of them." the scarred young man said with a hint of mirth to his voice. "They're in pretty good shape, too. Just knocked out. Probably a light bit of poppy powder.

"I took care of getting you here. Got to say, lay off the junk food. You're heavy enough as it is."

'Leave it to Raizen to say something nice and then turn it into an insult.' Keiko thought with a soft sigh. Her outward retort was a snappy "Who the hell asked you what your opinion was, you pervert?"

"Mind telling us what the hell got you in that condition, you moron?" Raizen rebounded at Keiko with a strong glare and a physical advancement. Yukina, Kurama and Genkai could all have cut thought the tension between the two of them with a knife. And as Keiko was about to snap back at the young man, Kuwabara walked in with a piece of paper.

"I think this might help answer some of the questions that we have," he said, handing the paper to Kurama who began to read the note aloud.

"'Reikai Tantei-

If you ever wish to see your parents again, then come to the abandoned warehouse on Jefferson and Gold. Come alone. I mean it, not sidekicks this time.

-Toguro'"

The room was quiet for a moment, and then exploded with the angry voices of Raizen and Kuwabara.

"ARE YOU REALLY THAT CRAZY, YUKIMURA?"

"DO YOU HAVE A DAMN DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING, TANTEI? I MEAN, SERIOUSLY! HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKING INEXERIENCED TO NOT KNOW THAT IT WAS A TRAP? CRAZY ASS BITCH!"

That last comment earned Raizen a good punch to the jaw from Keiko.

"While I find their methods of expressing their concern for your safety a tad... extreme, I think that both Kuwabara and Raizen present a valid point. You should have had some form of backup." Kurama stated calmly like the voice of reason that he was.

"So what did the overgrown mussel want, Keiko? I'm sure whatever it was, it can't be good." Genkai inquired, already having a good idea what her old (and lost) friend had wanted from her young apprentice.

Keiko paused thinking of what would be the best way to talk about this. Could she bring herself to tell her master, friends and (in a way) rivals about something that was so buried in her heart that it changed the very person that she is today? It showed just how much they really knew about her, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to talk about it. Maybe she would just take this all slow and see how things went from there.

"He wants me to fight in a tournament that is coming up." Keiko replied with a solemn voice. "Toguro called it the Dark Tournament. He said that if I refuse to participate, the people in charge of the tournament will destroy everything I care about."

As she finished talking about that piece of information, everyone's eyes showed comprehension for how big this really was. Though, Kuwabara showed the least as he was not familiar with the Tournament while the others were at least aware of it.

Yukina was the first to have a verbal reaction, as she gently took Keiko's hands within her own. "That tournament is very dangerous, Keiko-san. I do not think that it would be wise to participate, if not for the consequences of refusing."

Raizen gave a snort as Yukina finished. "Very dangerous in relation to that tournament is the understatement of the century Yukina-chan, and you know it as well as I do. It takes the word massacre and brings it to a whole new level."

"I don't get what the big deal is about this thing," Kuwabara said looking around at everyone. "I mean, other than the fact that there are the lives of the people we care about on the line, it seems like what Genkai had to find her apprentice to me."

"There is a huge difference between the two of them you idiot," Genkai snapped, setting her cup of tea down and practically jumping onto Kuwabara's head. "For one, that event is for entertainment only, while mine was to find someone worthy of learning what I had to teach. Second, the Dark Tournament is not only testing an individual but a group of 5 fighters. And then there is what the winning team gets."

"How do you know so much about it, Genkai-sama?" Keiko asked her master. She was both curious about how and why her master knew so much on the mater, as well as to whether or not what Toguro said about winning was true.

Genkai got a distant look in her eyes. Keiko and anyone who has spent a great deal of time around the old reiki master rarely saw this from her. It had only happened in moments where Genkai found herself alone, where she could look back on that time and try to find what had happened.

"Obaabaa, snap out of it." Raizen, who was a bit curious about how Genkai knew about the Tournament himself, said. He gave a small but noticeable raise to his reiki has this happened to grab the old lady's attention, along with the rest of the groups. Keiko's eyes had a mix of shock and anger as she stared at her sort of friend.

'Just how much power does he really have?' everyone in the room thought.

"I know so much about that accursed tournament because I was forced into it much like you are now, Keiko." Everyone froze from shock as they heard those words from Genkai with remorse in her voice. "I was a bit older than you lot at that time as it was 50 years ago. None of my team mates are around anymore, but we won that year. Each of us got the price..."

"A single wish granted," Keiko crocked. She had to keep in what was really going on in her mind. If she was reacting this hard to just saying that, there was no way in hell that she was going to tell them about her long-lost friend.

"... Yes," Genkai said, giving her student a bewildered look. "But how did you know about that piece of information, Keiko?"

Keiko remained silent. She didn't think that they would stop at just letting her tell them how she knew about it. Just knowing Kuwabara, Keiko knew that at least one person in this room would insist on knowing what it would be that she would wish for. Something told her Raizen would probably do the same. Even as she knew the every eye was looking at her with suspicion, Keiko could not bring herself to speak the sentence.

"Toguro mentioned it, didn't he?" the question had some from Kurama, but all of them had been thinking it. Keiko just gave a small nod of the head in response.

"I would be careful what you choose to wish for, kid," Genkai said with a meaningful look at her young student. "The committee isn't very trustworthy, and you might wish for something that back fires in the long run."

"If you don't mind my asking, Genkai-sama," Keiko began thinking that it was a safe change of subject, "what was it that you wished for when you won?"

"Unlike the rest of my team, I just wanted to live my life in peace," Genkai began, some sadness lacing her voice. "As a result, I wished be left alone by the people in charge of that horrid event, and never to be asked back."

It was a wise wish to make, if one knew anything about some of the favorite participants of the tournament. Generally speaking, they were returning champs that hadn't done something to cover their tracks to prevent coming back. It gave them another chance to either kill or be killed (something that the audience loved). Raizen was sure to let his thoughts on that be known.

"How the hell would you know that?" Kuwabara asked with a slight snarl to his voice.

"I basically grew up in the Makai, baka. It's basic knowledge there." Raizen said curtly.

"And what would you wish for, Tantei?" a familiar voice said from the window behind Keiko. Everyone turned to find Hiei sitting in the window with an all-knowing smirk on his face. Keiko quickly put two and two together.

"Stay out of my head, Hiei!" the girl exclaimed shooting the fire youkai a harsh glare.

With a snort, Hiei responded. "I haven't a clue what you are talking about, Tantei. There is no possible reason why I would choose to read your mind."

"Then why the hell do you look like you know what it is?" Keiko growled. "No one but me knows about this, so you would have had to use your damn telepathy!"

The would group was shocked, with the exception of Hiei who knew exactly what the Reikai Tantei would wish for. He did not even need to use his ability to read minds for this, as Raizen had told him about the childhood friendship between himself and the girl. It was a simple matter of thinking about the pieces of the puzzle together as he gained in tell. He could not tell her how he knew the truth, as it would lead to Raizen revealing a secret of his. Hiei had no intention of having that happen, so he just said, "You are easier to read than you thing, Tantei. That's all."

Raizen was looking between his two friends that were arguing, trying to figure out what they were talking about. What could his childhood friend possibly think was worth risking her life over to achieve? He couldn't think of anything until Hiei gave him a sharp look that was so hidden that Raizen was the only one who could decipher it. '_That _is what was so important to her - _Me?_' Raizen's thoughts screamed as his eyes grew wide for a fraction of a second.

"Please tell me that you aren't thinking of wishing for something stupid, Keiko," Raizen said with an agitated sigh. He was pinching the bridge of his nose to keep his true thoughts in. That wish would be reckless if not made at the right time, and even then it could backfire on both of them.

"It's not a stupid wish, Raizen! Not when it's about my best friend!" Keiko exploded, with tears in her eyes. Those in the room who had either not known Keiko as a young child or had not been informed of the past by Raizen were all shocked.

"What do you mean, Yukimura?" Kuwabara asked, being the one who was most acquainted with her.

"I am rather curious myself, Keiko-san," Kurama said in his usual calm voice.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Keiko muttered looking down at her lap. This is exactly what she had wanted to avoid. Baka hi-kusotare. If he had left it alone, this wouldn't have been brought up.

"Chikuso, Keiko! I don't give a rat youkai's ass whether or not you want to talk about it, you're going to tell us about it!" Raizen yelled, grabbing Keiko by the shoulders and shaking her slightly. While he was trying to hold all of his frustration, anger, and desperation to be wrong in, it came out though his reiki and remotely in his face. Keiko felt a slight bit of déjà vu coming from a memory that she cannot seem to remember. She couldn't figure out why Raizen occasionally brought these moments of recollection on, and she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to know.

"I don't have to say a damned thing!" Keiko shouted back at the young man holding her shoulders, unconsciously leaning in as she yelled. Her tears were still building in her eyes but remained unshed. "It's none of your business!"

"It is our damn business, Keiko!" he howled, leaning in as well. "We care about you, damn it! None of us wants to see you get hurt, and I sure as hell know that that best friend of yours would say the same if they were here, so just tell us already!"

"NO!" Keiko shrieked like a banshee.

"I am fairly confident that that the committee will have me on your team, Keiko-san," Kurama said in his most calming voice. "And as your teammate I would like to know."

"I don't want to talk about it already!" Keiko barked. She was getting tired of everyone pushing her to bring up her past that no one around her remembered or knew about. She trusted Kurama, but just wasn't ready to talk about this.

"Talk or your reluctant telepath of a teammate will tell them for you, Tantei," Hiei hissed. He was really getting tired of this. About half of the room already knew about her childhood friend, and everyone else was going to be involved in it real soon.

"You wouldn't dare, Hiei," Keiko hissed with a death glare. Kuwabara could not help but thing when he saw it that she had been hanging out to much around Hiei and Raizen, as it was starting to look like their own.

In response, Hiei just sent her a look that said _Don't doubt me on that, wench _and opened his mouth to begin saying what Keiko was dreading.

"FINE, you win you bastard!" Keiko growled reluctantly.

"My best friend disappeared when I was eight. We got in a fight right before that because he got into another fight with some other kids in our class. I don't remember what that fight of his was about, or why I had gotten into that argument, I just know that it happened. " Keiko said looking at her lap. The dam that held back her tears had finally broken, and the hot saltiness was now leaking down her cheeks at a slow pace.

"What was he like, Keiko-san?" Yukina asked, gently placing her hand on the other young woman's hand.

Keiko looked up into Yukina's eyes. If there was anyone in this group who were able who would understand what she was going though since she is searching for anything that could lead her to her long lost brother.

"I don't remember what he looked or sounded like. All I really remember of him is how he was treated by everyone. They were all so cruel to him. The day after he disappeared, the same boy that he had been beaten up by him the day before was making fun of him when he couldn't defend himself. The teachers were doing the same thing, saying they were glad that he was gone. I snapped then.

"Up until that point, I had been a model student. But that stopped when they attacked my missing friend. After that, I changed. I became the one defending him, and keeping anything that relates to his memory alive. I became the most feared junior high student in all of Tokyo. I became the girl that no one would believe would jump in front of a car to save a little kid who was stupid enough to play by the street. The girl who lost any relationship with her parents because she wouldn't let go of her pride in her best friend. And it all started with that first fight where I beat up Yoshiro Kensuke."

"So that's where that old fight started," Raizen said with a slight laugh. He knew this was serious, and was doing his best to absorb everything that Keiko had said. It definitely filled in some pieces of the puzzle that was his childhood friend. "You know, you really should have finished that one up years ago. Though it was fun toying with him."

"What are you two even talking about?" Kuwabara asked in confusion. "I mean, I have seen some of the fights between Yoshiro and Yukimura, but how do you know about them Raizen?"

"Oh, just ran into him with Keiko my first day here after you guys went off about your business," Raizen said with a shrug and a tone that clearly said he thought it meant nothing big.

"Shut the hell up, Raizen. That's not the important thing here," Keiko snarled with a sharp grimace sent at Raizen. She then turned to Kuwabara with the same expression. "And don't you go encouraging him. You were the ones wanting to know what I would wish for, and I am telling you. So let me finish."

After that, it was silent as Keiko finished telling them what she was planning on wishing for. The tears were waterfalls by this point, and Keiko hated herself for showing this weakness in front of them. The blow to her pride brought enough shame to Keiko to look down at her lap once more. After so long of being viewed as a girl with unbelievable strength is brought to crying like an infant when confronted with the missing best friend she is determined to find.

"All I want is to get my memories back of him. To remember his face, voice and name. His mom is gone now, so I am the only one that remembers anything about him. I want to know what the hell happened to him and if he is still alive. I promised myself when I was a kid that I would never forget him when he disappeared, because then he was still here in a way. Find him if I ever got the chance to. This may be that chance. That's what I would wish for: my best friend and the memories of him back."

Everyone was just sitting in a silent shock at everything Keiko had just said. So the Keiko they all knew had come from the loss of her best friend. Yukina was the first to break the stillness of the room by shedding a single tear which instantly became a beautiful jewel, as hers always did. She caught the small priceless item in her hand as she leaned in to hug the young Reikai Tantei. This shocked everyone in the room even more, as it was a very non-Yukina thing to do.

"I understand what you are going through in this, Keiko-san, better than any of the boys. We are both searching for someone that is a monumental part of our lives, but is missing from them - you with your best friend and me with my brother," Yukina began to pull away at this point. "I know that we will find them, Keiko-san. Be it together or separately, we will find them. Of this I am sure. And I want you to have this." Yukina finished, handing the teardrop to Keiko.

"Thank you, Yukina-chan. That means a lot to me." Keiko said in response, carefully taking the small gem. She then smiled and laughingly remarked: "And who knows, they could be closer than we think."

That last comment sent a wave of tension shot through both Hiei and Raizen's bodies. If only the two girls knew that the boys were in that room at the moment. Definitely hitting a little too close to home.

Keiko then turned to Kuwabara with a smirk on her face. "So, my loyal sidekick, you coming on this adventure, too?"

Kuwabara got a giant, childish grin on his face at this. "You know it, Yukimura! I can't let you have all the fun!" He gushed excitedly until the small quip was comprehended. "HEY! I'M NOT A SIDEKICK!"

Keiko and Raizen broke out into full laughter, while everyone else had a small case of the chuckles. As the joyous moment came to an end, Raizen looked at Hiei briefly. "So how did you get back here, Hiei? Last I saw you, you were hopping in the first portal that you could find back to the Makai."

"After some loser thought it would be a good idea to approach me about this tournament, I figured that there would at least be some others in this little group that had something similar happen, so I jumped the first hole in the barrier that I could find."

Raizen gave a quick nod. He had to go about all of this carefully, as he couldn't have Keiko know that he was going back to the Makai to talk to the only "family" that he had left but also had to inform her that he was going to help her in the tournament if he was needed. He had to make sure that she stayed safe, as the only other person who knew the whole truth about Raizen and Keiko's past was Hiei and he was not completely sold on the fire youkai protecting his friend. "Are you willing to show me where it is?" is what he finally decided on asking.

Keiko really started paying attention to that conversation once Raizen raised that question. Her voice with laced with the poison of annoyance as she chewed him out saying: "So you're heading back there now? Once we have a real threat on our hands, you just go and head back to what every the hell you had been doing in the Makai for God knows how long? Some help you are, Raizen."

"Well, what do you know? Is that perhaps disappointment I hear in the voice of Keiko Yukimura, the Reikai Tantei, at my leaving? If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn that you were going to miss me." Raizen said in mock shock. He loved these moments where he got to exchange witty banter with the young Tantei, as it brought a certain fire to him.

Keiko snorted and turned up her nose as she looked away from her friend that was about to depart. "Like hell. I could care less about where you are, Raizen."

"Relax, Keiko-chan. I'm just messing with you," Raizen said with a laugh. "I just got some stuff that I have to take care of quick. I'll be back before you can miss me.

"And if you need a sixth member at all, count me in."

With that, Raizen left the room and Genkai's Temple to find the portal with Hiei.

_**Well, there you have the second chapter of our story. Thank you so much to Tellemicus Sundance for not only giving me permission to write this, but also reading it and giving me some feedback (and brainstorming time). Also, thank you to Dragonblaze66 for both giving me feedback and favorite-ing, and Tensa-Zengetsu102 for subscribing. **_

_**By the way, let me know about the little sisterly moment between Yukina and Keiko. That is something that will play a big role in the coming chapters, and I want to know what you think of it. **_


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